abcnovels
Chapter 43
Chapter 43
Chapter 43 – Guild Establishment (4)
“Kang Hyeon.”
“What?”
“Are the three of us the only guild members?”
Shin Seong-a asked with a mysterious expression.
“What else do we need?”
“A guild is like a business. Originally, not only skilled individuals but also assistants, clerks, and many other personnel are needed.”
“Hmm…”
“Naturally, funds to hire and maintain these people are essential.”
At the mention of needing money, An Yu-seong tilted his head.
“I have a lot of money, so don’t worry about it.”
“Shut up, will you?”
Kang Hyeon cut off An Yu-seong’s words.
“I understand what you’re saying, but for now, we’ll go with just the three of us.”
“…”
“I don’t intend to blindly accept someone who doesn’t know anything right away. And it’s not like we’re strapped for cash, right?”
“Yes.”
“If you’re saying this because you’re tired of collecting magic stones, you don’t have to do it anymore.”
“That’s not it.”
Shin Seong-a shook her head as if that wasn’t her intention at all.
“Then that’s settled.”
Kang Hyeon clapped his hands to change the atmosphere.
“Now let’s think about the most important thing, the guild name.”
“Guild name…”
At Kang Hyeon’s words, Shin Seong-a and An Yu-seong fell into serious thought.
“Have you thought about it roughly?”
Enough time had passed for the ice in the coffee to melt completely.
The two nodded at Kang Hyeon’s question.
“Good. Then first, An Yu-seong.”
Kang Hyeon gestured with his chin towards An Yu-seong.
An Yu-seong, who had been sitting with his arms crossed and eyes closed, opened his eyes wide.
“How about Crazy?”
“Get lost.”
“Ah, wait a moment. Then how about Lunatic?”
At the word that seemed familiar from somewhere, Kang Hyeon rubbed his chin.
“The sound seems okay, but what does it mean?”
“Crazy.”
“You crazy bastard. Get lost. Next, Shin Seong-a.”
This time, Shin Seong-a rested her chin on her hand and her eyes shone seriously.
“How about Kang Hyeon’s Strong Friends?”
“What?”
Kang Hyeon asked back with an incredulous expression.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes. Isn’t it cool?”
“Haah…”
Kang Hyeon let out a deep sigh.
‘Well, life is lived alone anyway.’
Isn’t that how everything in the world is?
Kang Hyeon gave up on receiving help from them.
“Forget it. I’ll take care of the name myself.”
“If you were going to do that, why did you even ask?”
“Shut up.”
Ignoring An Yu-seong’s grumbling, Kang Hyeon brought up the next agenda.
“Next is the guild’s rule.”
“Rule, you say?”
“Yeah. In Korean, regulation! This is very important.”
“That’s right.”
“Actually, I’ve thought of a few things on my way here.”
At Kang Hyeon’s words, both of their gazes gathered.
“There are three in total, first, become stronger than anyone else.”
“Good.”
Shin Seong-a nodded.
“Second, don’t pick unnecessary fights.”
“Why are you looking at me while saying that?”
“You know best.”
Kang Hyeon, who had been glaring at An Yu-seong for a moment, continued.
“Lastly, third. Return as much as you receive.”
“Do you mean to return as much as you receive, whether it’s favor or resentment?”
“Exactly. I don’t want to be a thug, and I hate being a pushover even more. Any objections?”
At Kang Hyeon’s words, the two nodded silently.
“Good. Then let’s engr…”
“By the way, Mr. Kang Hyeon.”
“What?”
Suddenly, Shin Seong-a interrupted Kang Hyeon’s words.
“Don’t we need to prepare a lot to establish a guild?”
“That’s right.”
“I know there’s a lot of paperwork besides what I mentioned earlier.”
“Umm…”
“Moreover, I wonder if it’s possible to establish a guild with just three people.”
“Don’t worry about that.”
Kang Hyeon said as if there was no problem with Shin Seong-a’s tone.
“Team Leader Shin Tae-gil said he’d take care of everything.”
“What?”
“He just asked me to tell him the guild members and the guild name?”
“Power is indeed nice…”
***
Ippotranslation
***
-Is what I’m looking at really a guild establishment application?
That evening.
That was the first thing Shin Tae-gil said as soon as he called.
“Is there a problem? If it’s because there are too few people, I’ll add more later.”
-It’s not that, it’s the guild name…
“Is it because it’s in English?”
-Haah…
Shin Tae-gil let out a deep sigh from the bottom of his heart.
-English is not the problem.
“Then leave it as it is.”
-Are you serious?
“I am serious.”
Kang Hyeon answered with a serious face.
-Did you form some kind of villain alliance or something? What on earth is Badass?!
At Shin Tae-gil’s excited words, Kang Hyeon tilted his head.
“Isn’t it cool?”
As Kang Hyeon chuckled, Shin Tae-gil sighed again.
-Is it like, bad ass or something?
“What are you talking about?! Ass?”
-Then what is it?
“It means extremely cool, great, very awesome guys.”
At Kang Hyeon’s playful words, Shin Tae-gil said nothing.
“I’m telling you it’s true. Don’t worry, it’s a good meaning.”
-I know what it means too!
Shin Tae-gil was a talent who graduated from an American Ivy League university.
“And Mr. Shin Tae-gil.”
-Yes.
“I need a guild office, can you arrange one?”
-I’ll prepare a suitable place.
“That’s good.”
Kang Hyeon smiled satisfactorily at the straightforward answer.
“What came out of that terrorist guy you sent last time?”
Kang Hyeon suddenly remembered the guy whose foot was smashed by An Yu-seong last time.
-He’s more cooperative than expected. We plan to carry out a large-scale operation to wipe them out after the C-grade dungeon conquest.
“Is there a reason to postpone it until after the conquest? I think it would be better to deal with it quickly before the dungeon conquest.”
-Their scale is larger than we thought. To wipe them out all at once, we need to investigate and prepare thoroughly.
“I see. When is the dungeon conquest date?”
-Five days from now.
There was more time than expected.
Since Kang Hyeon was moving in a small scale, he didn’t need as much preparation as other guilds, so it seemed like he could prepare slowly.
-Before that, you need to attend a preliminary meeting.
“Preliminary meeting?”
-Yes. Seven guilds, including the Ability User Union, are expected to participate in this dungeon conquest. We decided to gather the guild leaders in advance to discuss the strategy.
“When is that?”
-Tomorrow.
***
Ippotranslation
***
In a dark room.
A man was buried in a sofa without even turning on the lights.
The man shook his messy hair.
“What’s the matter?”
At the man’s words, a woman standing behind approached.
“Jung Young-sik has been caught.”
At those words, the man on the sofa, Choi Min-jun, narrowed his eyes.
“By whom?”
“It’s a guy named Kang Hyeon.”
Kang Hyeon.
A name that became a big issue recently due to the Daeyeons research lab incident, but Choi Min-jun had known him from before.
That’s because it was Choi Min-jun who founded and supported the Bait Guild together with Jeong Eui-hyeon.
‘He’s been annoying from the start…’
Jung Young-sik had an invisibility skill, so he was planning to use him effectively later. But because of Kang Hyeon, the plan went awry.
“How far along is the drug?”
“We still need more time. We’re also short on test subjects…”
Choi Min-jun’s expression darkened at the woman’s words.
“No. Use whatever means necessary to move up the schedule.”
“Understood.”
***
Ippotranslation
***
– Korea’s first C-rank dungeon conquest! Ability user Union and 6 guilds set to participate.
– Han Se-yeon of Dangun Guild. Shows strong will to conquer.
– Choi Dong-woo: This will be an event that raises the level of ability users in Korea.
– The world’s attention is now focused on Korea’s dungeon conquest.
As soon as the government announced the C-rank dungeon conquest, news articles poured out.
Complete clearing of a C-rank dungeon.
The dungeon conquest, which instantly became the hottest issue, garnered interest not only domestically but also overseas.
[Conquest Participation List]
– Republic of Korea Ability User Union
– Dangun Guild
– Immortal Guild
– Fire Dragon Guild
– Guardian Guild
– Black Knights Guild
– Badass Guild
People’s attention was focused on the dungeon conquest participation list announced together.
– I get the Ability User Union and top 10 guilds joining, but what’s Badass?
– Is it Bad Ass?
– I looked it up, it’s a new guild formed yesterday.
– Guild leader’s name is Kang Hyeon. I think that was the real name of the Goblin Slayer.
People argued over the unfamiliar guild name on the list.
– Is Kang Hyeon already at that level? Isn’t this too much hype when he just got famous from one incident?
– He probably lobbied or something.
– Lobby? Do you want to die? If you haven’t seen Kang Hyeon’s class, shut up before I smash your skull.
“Bro.”
At An Yu-seong’s call, Kang Hyeon quickly put away his smartphone.
“What?”
“We should get going soon.”
“Is it time already?”
Today was the day of the guild leader meeting for the dungeon conquest.
Kang Hyeon was going to go alone, but An Yu-seong and Shin Seong-a insisted on coming along, so they gathered at the guild office.
“Alright. Let’s decorate the office a bit when we get back today.”
Shin Tae-gil provided an office as promised.
He gave an entire floor of a building located in Gangnam.
But the only furniture inside was the desk and chair in front of Kang Hyeon.
The vast interior seemed to add to the bleakness.
“Shall I decorate it?”
At An Yu-seong’s words, Kang Hyeon looked him up and down.
His shocking fashion would make even a 70s punk rock band call him ‘big brother’ and cry.
“Absolutely not. I’d rather leave it to Shin Seong-a.”
“Then shall I do it?”
Shin Seong-a, who was listening nearby, chimed in with a bright voice.
“No.”
“Tch.”
I don’t know how they’ve lived their lives, but these guys are of no help except in combat.
Kang Hyeon vowed to call a professional remodeling company later.
“Let’s go for now. We’ll be late.”
Kang Hyeon hurried out of the office to attend the meeting.
“What’s this now…?”
Kang Hyeon had a dumbfounded expression seeing the limousine parked conspicuously in front of the office.
“I called it.”
The black limousine, which looked longer than a decent-sized bus, seemed overwhelming just to look at.
People were constantly pressing their camera shutters, taking pictures of the literally overflowing luxurious appearance.
“Young master, you’re here.”
“We’re about to leave now.”
“Understood.”
It was An Yu-seong’s personal chauffeur, whom I had met before.
“Hey. Don’t you have any normal cars?”
“You don’t want to be cramped and uncomfortable either, right bro?”
I couldn’t deny it because it was true.
“Sigh… Fine. Let’s just go.”
As he got in the car, Kang Hyeon thought that the guild needed its own dedicated vehicle and driver.
‘Team leader Shin Tae-gil will take care of it, right?’
He lay back in his seat, thinking thoughts that would make Shin Tae-gil grab the back of his neck from high blood pressure if he heard them.
‘It is nice though.’
As I felt before, this vehicle was too nice, even for me.
So comfortable that you could fall asleep just sitting for a bit.
The veteran driver’s skills probably played a part too.
“What time is it now?”
“1:59 PM.”
The traffic was worse than expected, making us late.
The meeting was scheduled to start at exactly 2 PM.
– Please arrive at least 5 minutes early and be seated.
Shin Tae-gil’s earnest request echoed in my mind.
“Hmm…”
Kang Hyeon, who had been deliberately ignoring his constantly ringing smartphone, finally checked his messages.
– Where are you? It’s 5 minutes before.
– Why aren’t you answering your phone? Is something wrong?
– Where are you, Kang Hyeon? It’s 2 PM sharp. Everyone is waiting.
– Answer the phone. You son of a b…
He quickly turned off the screen.
“Is it far?”
“We’ve arrived.”
Not long after, we arrived at our destination, the Dungeon Management Organization headquarters.
When the limousine door opened, a huge modern building came into view.
“When did they build this?”
“It’s a newly constructed building.”
“Really? What a waste of tax money.”
Kang Hyeon shook his head after briefly admiring the building.
“This isn’t the time to be sightseeing. What time is it now?!”
“2:04 PM.”
“Let’s hurry!”
The group entered the building at a quick pace and immediately got on the elevator.
As they pressed the 11th floor, their destination, and the doors were about to close, a thick hand grabbed them.
“Excuse me, we’re getting in.”
Soon after, a group of about 10 people who looked like ability users got on the elevator.
They were all wearing red-toned equipment, which looked quite flashy.
– Beep… Capacity exceeded.
Perhaps due to the weight of their equipment, the elevator sounded an alarm as it exceeded the 1000kg weight limit.
“Ahem…”
The alarm kept ringing, but the new passengers showed no sign of getting off.
‘What’s with these guys?’
Kang Hyeon turned his head and stared at them.
“Aren’t you getting off?”
“Huh, really… Don’t you know who we are?”
Kang Hyeon gave them a look, but they had the gall to look bewildered instead.
“We’re the Fire Dragon Guild!”
The man who spoke dramatically fluttered his ornately decorated cape. A roaring, flaming dragon was depicted on the cape.
“…”
Seeing this, Kang Hyeon’s expression gradually began to contort.
“I don’t care if you’re Fire Dragon or whatever, we’re in a hurry so get off while I’m asking nicely.”